Time to admit
by One Nation of the Light
Summary: Darren has always had a crush on Stitch...what will he do about it? Darren/Stitch slash.


Time to Admit  
by One Nation of the Light  
  
Disclaimer - I don't own the characters, duh.  
Pairings - Darren/Stitch.  
  
Darren couldn't remember the first time he had ever met Stitch, but he did remember that they were at each other's throats by the end of it. Short black hair. A long t-shirt that was a bold fashion statement if ever he had seen one. He had never really had a problem with Mo until that confrontation. He was jealous of her. Of her closeness to Stitch.   
Through time, as Darren observed Stitch, he saw that Stitch was kind, and loyal, and true. Not normally the type to laugh at people or say mean things right to thier faces. Apparently, that was a cruelty Stitch reserved only for Darren, or 'Derwood', as Stitch always called him. That knowledge was like a knife twisting in his heart. But of course, Dongles are strong, so he tried to get at Stitch any way he could. He insulted him, his family, his freinds...it always got an impassioned reaction, and that was better than nothing, wasn't it?  
He had realized that he loved Stitch, though he didn't know exactly why. Maybe it had something to do with that spirit of Stitch's that was as bold as his attire, or the endearing way that emotions ran freely out of him like water. But he thought it had mostly to do with the fact that there was a light behind Stitch's eyes, shining with a kind of goodness and love...but not when he looked at Darren, of course. For Darren, there was only coldness behind those eyes. He would have given anything to reside in that warmth that radiated from Stitch...but Stitch hated him, had somehow hated him from the second he saw him. Just his luck.   
  
Stitch didn't know what Dongle's problem was. And he didn't know why it bothered him so much. All he knew was that something about that boy just got to him.  
He was already having a bad day, anyways. The soccer team he had previously played in had rebelled against their 'ruthless' leader Mo, and he earned himself a week's detention. So he was not in the best of moods when Darren bumped into him directly after Biblical Studies. He was sure he had done it on purpose.   
"Watch it, Derwood," he snarled.  
"Problem, Kaiser?" Darren replied cooly.  
"Actually, yeah. Why don't we settle this after classes?" Stitch said angrily. He wasn't in the mood to take anything from the stupid git today.  
"Oh, just you and me?" Darren asked, and Stitch thought he noticed some kind of odd hopefullness in his voice, but he simply agreed, made the plans, and then walked away in a huff.   
  
Darren sat in the empty classroom and waited for Stitch. This had gone on far too long. It was sickening, really; his obsession with Stitch seemed to get stronger every day, and it was starting to take a toll on him. He figured he would end it tonight, one way or another. They would be alone, so it was the perfect opportunity. And after all, what did he have to lose? When you start with nothing, you can't really end up with any less than that.   
Stitch finally walked in the door. Darren leapt up and, before Stitch could react, pounced on him, restraining his hands and pinning him against the wall.   
"What the hell are you doing, Derwood?" Stitch yelled.   
It was now or never.   
"Only this," said Darren quietly. And he leaned into Stitch and kissed him full on the lips.   
Stitch first stiffened in shock, and then began to struggle, as Darren had figured he would, but he restrained him, not allowing him to break away from the kiss.   
Darren pulled away very slightly in order to slowly lick Stitch's lower lip. A tiny, involuntary gasp escaped Stitch's throat. Encouraged, Darren moved back in and kissed the boy softer, tenderly. Stitch slowly began to relax and fell into the kiss. Darren released Stitch's hands from his grasp and moved his arms around Stitch's waist, holding him close. Stitch allowed his own hands to move up and entangle in fiery red hair.   
Finally, Darren ended the kiss, bringing his hand up to brush Stitch's face. His silvery eyes stared into Stitch's with a look that said his heart was about to burst.   
Suddenly, Darren released the boy, and turned to stride out of the room.  
"Wha- I mean...wh-why'd you do that?" stuttered Stitch.  
"Because I...I felt like it, that's why." And Darren left, the door slamming behind him.  
Stitch sunk down into an empty desk chair in utter shock. It was a long time before he regained his composure and headed back home.   
  
Stitch rushed through the corridor, making excuses to Mo that he was really tired and wanted to go straight home, to bed. He didn't get any sleep that night, though. He laid staring upwards, replaying the night's events over and over in his mind. Why had Darren kissed him? And why was it that he...kind of liked it? Was Darren playing some kind of mind game? But that look he had given him before running out...it said more than all the nasty remarks he had ever thrown his way over the years. Could Darren have real feelings for him? Could he return them?  
He knew Darren was terrible and mean and a conniving teacher's pet. But that night, he'd seen another side to him. Maybe...just maybe...he wasn't so bad after all? And maybe there was a reason why Darren had always gotten to him so much, when Mo usually seemed able to just brush him off and ignore him. Maybe it was because he had always wanted there to be something else there in Darren...and maybe he'd finally found what he was looking for.  
  
Stitch had spent the entire day (and most of last night) wondering what to do about Derwood, or Darren, as it now was. He supposed that now that they had kissed, he could at least think of him by his first name.   
Mo had easily noticed that Stitch was preoccupied, but she hadn't been able to get a thing out of him. He just kept telling her that he hadn't gotten much sleep last night - hey, it was true. She was his best freinds, but he didn't figure he'd say anything to her until he made up his mind what he was going to do...if he was going to do anything at all.  
By Biblical Studies, he still didn't have a clue. He kept stealing glances at Darren, but the boy seemed to be purposefully ignoring him, staring straight down at his work the entire class. Stitch finally decided to follow his example and concentrate on his own work before anyone noticed him staring.   
When class let out, impulsiveness suddenly got the best of him and he lagged slightly behind Mo so he was walking right next to Darren. Then he purposefully slammed into him- hard.   
"Kaiser! What the-" started Darrem.  
"Wanna settle this after class?" Stitch said in a low voice, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.  
Darren just stared at him in suprise.  
"Same time, same place," he said quietly. Then he gave him a wink and walked on.  
"What was that all about?" Mo asked. She had heard Darren yell out at Stitch, but hadn't heard what was said after that.  
"Is Dongle giving you trouble? Is that's what's been getting at you all day?" Mo asked. She hadn't believed for a second that it was just lack of sleep; Stitch wasn't the best liar.  
"Look," said Stitch. "If you don't ask me any more questions today, I swear on my mother's life I'll tell you everything tomorrow."  
Mo looked mystified, but reluctantly agreed and didn't bother him about it for the rest of the day.   
  
That day after classes, Stitch went to the appointed meeting place and found Darren already waiting for him. The boy's face was stony cold and didn't betray what he was thinking.   
"Look Kaiser, I only came to tell you that...about yesterday...well you know I wasn't serious, right? You don't think I'd want someone like *you*, do you? I was just...screwing with you, you know."  
"Oh, no you weren't", said Stitch knowingly. "But you'd like to, wouldn't you?"  
Darren's face immediately flushed, and Stitch couldn't help but laugh. At that, Darren quickly recovered his icy stare and stepped towards Stitch, making an insulting comment about his family lineage.   
Stitch just smiled, though; in all the time in the last day he'd spent thinking about Darren, he'd already worked out that he just used insults to cover up his true feelings.   
"Oh, come off it, Der-I mean, Darren." He said the name softly. "Look, I like you too."  
Before Darren could even react, Stitch was on him, picking up where they'd left off the day before. After a moment's hesitation, Darren melted into the embrace and kissed him deeply.   
  
The next day, Mo didn't let Stitch forget his promise from the day before to tell them what was going on with him. He put it off, saying that he'd tell them that night.  
Stitch wasn't really looking forward to informing her of the fact that he was pretty sure that he was in love with Darren Dongle. But she was his best friend; he couldn't keep this from her forever. And besides, Mo hadn't kept it from him a few months back when she had developed a temporary crush.  
So, that night, Stitch sat her down and, after making sure no one else was around, told her about he and Darren.   
Mo didn't take it overly well at first; she was a bit skeptical that there could actually be a nice guy under that cold exterior of Dongle's. But on the other hand, Stitch was her best freind, and she trusted him...  
"I don't know what you see in the guy," Mo said finally, "But if you say there's something there...then I guess there must be. I'm...I'm glad you have a chance to find the same kind of happiness that I had once. I'll put up with the guy...for your sake."   
That was good enough for Stitch, and he suddenly jumped up and hugged Mo in a mixture of gratitude and relief.  
  
Stitch and Darren did become a couple, even though it wasn't something they ever really discussed or that was ever spoken between them. Darren got on a lot better with Mo after that. However, to Stitch's slight annoyance, Darren actually continued to needle Stitch, though now it was much more like freindly teasing than malicious insulting. And he still got mad at Darren and blew up at him every once in a while, too, especially when Darren's teacher's pet traits made a strong appearance. While no longer much of a bully, Darren didn't lose even a trace of that arrogance that he'd always had. But Stitch supposed that, actually, that was alright; it was really what made Darren, Darren. Stitch had fallen in love with him for what he was, not for what he might be; and besides, the fighting between the two was always what had given thier relationship such intensity and passion. You could say that Stitch and Darren's relationship was...perfectly flawed.  
  
END 


End file.
